Geese are farmed for meat, foie gras, down, and eggs — the welfare needs of this highly social and intelligent waterfowl species.
Goose welfare in commercial production is substantially shaped by the denial of their basic biological needs — water access for bathing, outdoor access for grazing, and social stability for maintaining the pair bonds that are central to their emotional lives. The cognitive and social sophistication of geese means that welfare compromise extends beyond physical health to the psychological domain: geese separated from bonded partners, denied meaningful social interaction, or kept in environments that do not engage their intelligence experience welfare losses that matter. Foie gras force-feeding represents the most severe welfare failure in commercial goose farming, but the industry-wide denial of water access and outdoor range is also a significant and widespread welfare problem.